Brakes on used test drive

[Billy Horn]

I test drove a 05 with 13,000miles and a 03 with 43000 on it yesterday and both of them felt like the brakes sucked on them. Both of them were 4x4s, and I've never drove one before, so I was wondering if this is natural? It felt like I press the brakes and nothing would happen till about half way down then the pedal wouldn't budge. Is this kind of natural, or was I test driving a couple trucks that have seen better days?

 

[mookie]

The brakes DO require a lot of pressure. That's normal. When I drive my Chrysler 300M, it requires much less pressure to stop.

 

[Glenn Brown]

Same here!

Mookie I have a 2001 300M with 55,000 Miles on it! Original owner and I haven't replaced my brakes yet? How about yours?

 

[A1cntrler]

I replaced the brakes on my '03 300M Special at 27,000 miles. They had worn down to almost nothing and left grooves in the rotors. The Special had somekind ofsoft, grippy brakes on it. I would clean the rims, and 20 miles later they were black with brake dust again. I replaced the rotors with i-Rotors (250 for all 4). They are slotted and cross-drilled, and put Hawk ceramic pads on the rear and Akebono ceramic pads on the front. My wife who drives the car every day said tat the brakes feel better and more responsive now than the stock brakes....







The brakes on my '01 were rather soft. About half way down on the pedal they would catch.

 

[Casey Everhart]

Braking requires a lot of pressure. It was a huge learning experience going from a small sports car where you barely touched the brakes and abs would kick in

 

[mookie]

Glenn,



My wife is the regular driver of our 2001 300M and it has only 26,000 miles on it! Original owner, original brakes.



(edited for spelling)

 

[Glenn Brown]

Yep, good car to cruise around in! I haven't had any trouble with the 300M yet either! I just replaced the stock Michelins with the Michelins Hydroedge tires! Look like a great tread pattern and last another 50-60K miles! Seem to have less road noise than the originals! The battery looks like it's tough to replace, might take mine to dealer when it is needed to replace!

 

[mookie]

Yeah, the owner's manual says to remove the front fascia to get to it!

 

[Terry Schultz]

Brakes to battery discussion ??????



Terry

 

[Michael Cacioppo]

The stock '03 pads have a lot less surface area than the '05. The pads were upgraded in '04 model year. The upgraded OEM brakes are a direct fit for the '03 and earlier models. A better biting pad such as performance frictions and a performance rotor with slots and/or cross drilled holes will be noticeable in the stopping department.